Science & Life conference at university on gender dysphoria prevented

It has been clear for weeks now that the air in many Italian universities is rather heavy, but what happened at the University of Catania goes beyond the now daily pro-Palestine demonstrations, widening the front of intolerance. The Aula Magna of the central building of the University where a conference was to take place organized by the Etna section of Science & Life on «Gender dysphoria in minors and the “alias career” in schools» was occupied by around seventy people mobilized by Catania collectives hostile to an initiative deemed “transphobic”.

Shouting slogans against the conference – which intended to address “medical, legal and anthropological issues” – the demonstrators prevented the speakers from speaking, ignoring the attempts at dialogue by the organizers and representatives of the university authorities and, indeed, resorting to threatening tones: ” You should be ashamed to come here to our house to hold your extremist and transphobic rallies” said a spokeswoman, reading a sort of dark statement greeted by loud shouts from the other participants in the demonstration. The presence of Digos, which limited itself to avoiding accidents, did not at all discourage the occupants, belonging to collectives from Catania (such as Open Catania, on whose Instagram profile a disturbing video can be viewed). The impossibility of any dialogue advised the organizers and the university to forget about it and cancel the conference, which was scheduled for two days (19 and 20 April) with the participation of doctors, jurists, philosophers and bioethicists, all university professors.

The demonstration at the University of Catania – –

A serious fact, which shocked the president of Scienza & Vita Catania, the constitutionalist Giuseppe Chiara: «We knew that the appearance of the posters of the conference in the city had aroused discontent in some associations – he explains, when the students are still inside the ‘Aula Magna despite the conference attendees having already left some time ago.’ For this reason we had established a fruitful dialogue with Arcigay Catania, ensuring him the possibility of an intervention in the debate space”. It seemed like it was enough to defuse the tension, but on the eve of the conference, unpromising posters appeared in universities: «Transphobia out of UniCt – we read –. The conference will have anti-abortion, anti-choice, transphobic and misogynistic figures as guests, including the Mayor and the Archbishop” (the former was actually expected on the second day of the conference, Monsignor Renna managed to give a brief greeting before if the commotion exploded). Conclusion: «It is unacceptable that discriminatory messages are brought into our university. Let’s make some noise! Delivery respected to the letter, so much so as to prevent the conference. «They refused the confrontation and continued to shout to prevent us from speaking – explains Chiara -. All we had to do was acknowledge with great bitterness the impossibility of even starting, recording the rector’s willingness to revive our initiative with an online “virtual room” with selected invitations”. An absolute makeshift solution which alone is enough to understand at what level the dialogue between different cultures which would be the soul of the university has reached.

The poster that appeared in the university – –

Tiziana Drago, a centrist exponent, member of the regional technical-scientific committee on family, social affairs and work, former M5s senator (who later left the movement), present in the audience, who, knowing some demonstrators, tried to make them think, in vain, was dismaying. «We have witnessed the trampling of democracy, an attack conducted with contemptuous tones towards those who think differently – she says – her. There is anger at such intolerance from those who then ask for a more open society. I saw an expert teacher saddened to the point of tears by the difficult situation that had been created. It is useless to talk about peace when these behaviors are implemented. I am deeply worried.”

No less indignant was Paola Binetti, who had to intervene remotely with a neuropsychiatrist’s report on «gender dysphoria as a transitory criticality in the process of personal maturation»: «It was not understood that initiatives such as that of Scienza & Vita want to help understand a topic of extreme delicacy on which scientific knowledge is needed such as that which all of us speakers wanted to bring. The intolerance of those who didn’t even want to listen to us seems to be a sign of a desire to close themselves off in a sort of incommunicability with society which also wants to be in tune with people who suffer from an identity that they feel is not accepted. Creating barriers is of no use to anyone, much less to those who raise them thinking that their reasons will prevail.”